Daisaku Ikeda, born January 2, 1928, Japan) is president of Sōka Gakkai International (SGI), a Nichiren Buddhist lay association which claims 12 million members in 192 countries and territories, and founder of several educational, cultural and peace research institutions. Ikeda was listed in Watkins Books' Watkins Mind Body Spirit as the 69th "most spiritually influential" living person in 2012, and the 78th in 2013.